I'm working on it.

The past 2 weeks, I've been taking some time to sketch out several of the projects that I've had on my schedule. I've made so much progress in that time and only have a few more designs to sketch out, but needed to take a break. How do I decide to take a break? By working on and hopefully completing the collaboration piece Tom Denney (http://www.tomdenney.com/). I've had a rough year and that's led to most of the procrastination on the design, but I really want to get it finished before the new year. As soon as it's done, Tom said that a friend of his in Chicago wants to make prints of them and maybe even make it the centerpiece in a joint art show in LA and/or Seattle.

  For the design, Tom has drawn up one of his signature women and left the background to me. As you can see in the pic, I'm detailing the crow at the lower left. Sorry that it's taken so long, Tom. It'll be done soon.

SketchFest.

   The weather has been cold and I love that I haven't had to go out into it. Having the time to work on art everyday is one of the best things that I could have done. So, having all of this time I've been sketching my ass off. With so many projects on the schedule I decided to take a few weeks to sit down and sketch out several projects. That way, I would have the designs ready to ink when the time comes. 

 

I've finished the Lamb Of God sketch that was influenced off of the lyrics to "Choke Sermon" and am waiting for Mark to get back to me on when to start inking it. 

  

The sketch for Cobalt called "Pregnant Insect" was finished and approved yesterday. Even though it's a go on the design, I'm waiting until I have all of my sketching done before I start inking. Here is a detail from the center of the design.

  I also completed a border for Kylesa's "Only One II" design. The design was used for the front of their new tour hoodie and Phillip asked if I could draw them a cool border to go with the design so that they could use it for a shirt on their tour early in the new year. I ended up adding a ribcage border, as the original picture and idea behind "Only One II" was that of the empty space in ones heart. I wanted the scene to extend itself into the border so the heart is continuing through the ribs, as well as the clouds. I extended the ropes that are binding the heart so that they were anchored on to a few of the ribs. Laura already voiced her approval and I'm happy that the image will have some new life breathed into it. Here is a detail from that sketch.

Des just sent me the track listing and lyrics for the new High On Fire "Snakes For The Divine" album and I've already figured on three ideas for designs. While I'm working on that, I'll also be working on a shirt design for Kuma's Corner Restaurant/Bar ( http://www.kumascorner.com/ )in Chicago . What do these 2 things have in common you may ask? Well, Kuma's menu features delicious burgers that are named after metal bands and they are having artists draw up a design for each band that is represented on their menu. I have the High On Fire burger, so while I'm sketching new shirt designs for HOF themselves, I'll also be creating a piece for Kuma's HOF burger during the same brainstorming sessions. I don't have to draw any food, but it has to be a design that reflects the band

and Kuma's. 

  

Another small design for Kuma's Corner is being worked on and more sketches are on the list. The sketch for Karim is in the placement stage, and a logo for Sanctus Bellum is being sketched over and over. I'll be glad when I can start inking them all.

I hope that everyone has a good holiday and is out there truly doing what makes them happy. Even in these trying times. I have a had a hard year turn into one of the best times in recent memory, and I look forward to what 2010 holds for me, my family, and friends. Thank those of you that have supported me and kept my head up during the low times. Thank you to the friends that I have made throughout the world like Kon from Greece,  Yuzuru from Japan, and all of the other artists and art fans that keep me going. Next year will only get better and I can't wait. 

  

 

Epic journies.

  It would figure that an album with the words EPIC JOURNIES would stand as a prophecy of what was to come. I've finished the SMAUG -"Epic Journies & the Riddle of Steel"  cd/lp cover after a year and it took all that I had in me to get it done. Alton commissioned me last November and It took 2 intense months of working on it to get just the line art done. I had the great idea that I was going to color this thing using the computer and started on a 3 week, no sleep, no fun, back breaking process. Then, all of the files corrupted. Gone. All of that work was gone in an instant and I lost it (inside). It was such an arduous time, that I hadn't been able to touch it in months and decided that if i was going to color it, it would be by hand . Now that I'm solely working on art I needed to complete the piece and get it off of my schedule. I took the last week to sit at the ole' art table and put this cover to rest. Alton liked the finished product and is looking for a label to help them put it out. He said that they wanted to have it released on vinyl and with all of the detail within this design it'll be a perfect size to showcase the artwork.

  I am also able to work on my schedule and have started to sketch out the next 5-8 projects. I am trying to play a little catch up and have the sketches ready to go when I need to have them. Today, I completed the sketch for the Lamb Of God "Choke Sermon" design and sent it off to Mark for approval. Below is a detail image of the sketch.

  In the meantime, I'm sketching a shirt design for Karim at I'm Better Than Everyone Records, a border for the "Only One II" design for Kylesa, a shirt design for Cobalt, a  High On Fire 3 sided shirt design, a logo for Sanctus Bellum, and a few designs for Kuma's Corner of Chicago. I also will have shirt designs and prints available soon. I'm busy and rested and haven't felt this good in a long while. The Smaug cover is done. All seems right with the world........................for now. 

Free of work and Kicking Korners.

  It's December and I'm once again working for myself. This time, things are coming together and the projects are plentiful. I'm working on getting some t-shirt, hoodies, baby clothing, prints, and a leap into doing colored/painted pieces (as well as the b&w designs). I'll keep posting more info on the merchandise as it becomes available.  

  As for the job, I did enjoy working at the print shop, but realized how much time it consumed and took away from art.  It was getting far too hard to keep up with the schedule that I had and I ended up having to apologize to people and assure them that I wasn't slacking on their art. It's hard to work all day, commute an hour back and forth, and come home and  work on art until I passed out. It takes a toll on the body and I just couldn't keep doing that to myself. So, here I am. Once again. Working on art. Nothing could be better.

   One of the first things that I was able to do was a cover for one of my best friends' band. They're called Suburban Korner Kick and they play indie rock with some similarities and sound akin to fIREHOSE. That would make sense as one of the main writers in the band is from Ohio. This is the second cover that I've been able to do for him  (2007's Plan B: To Linger, Remain, Or Persist)  and it's been a nice change of pace working with a band of a different genre. Both covers have

 been a change in that I am out of my element in making more simplified designs. For the new cd, Maybe Tomorrow, Chris and I went over many ideas before reaching the final design. The cds were ready before hand and the art on them featured a bison in a field. We wanted to tie the cd art in with the cover in some way and thought of the idea of expanding the field on the cover. The title helped to fill in the rest of the idea. What we ended up with was a nice country road with a line of phone/electrical poles running along side. The poles show the wear of being exposed to the elements in that they are sinking, crooked, and some of the lines have snapped. Seeing as the poles aren't cared for, they're just another place to hang some laundry out to dry. The only problem would be the storm on the horizon. The idea was that Maybe Tomorrow was part of the attitude to be contained in the design. The phone/electrical workers to lack of  keeping up maintenance on the poles. Maybe tomorrow. The storm is coming and the laundry needs to be taken off of the line. Maybe tomorrow. It's

 really not as serious as it sounds, though. The laundry on the line does add a nice comedic touch to the cover. The adding of the Suburban Korner Kick logo on the sign was a continuation from the first cover, where an astronauts air tank had the logo affixed to the side

  The back is an up close shot of some of the laundry on the line. Chris is going to add the song titles to the center of the shirt. You can check out their music at www.myspace.com/suburbankornerkick and http://www.nushrecords.com/

Shrinebuilder at The Viper Room.

The Shrinebuilder show was crushing! They played their first show in LA the other night and they did not disappoint. We flew out just to see the show and ended up having the greatest time in a short amount of time. I was able to see my good friend Leah, who used to play with me in Sistema Nervioso, and whom I haven't seen for over 10 years. She's still rocking it and working around the corner from my friend Jason. We walked Hollywood Blvd and were thoroughly disgusted with the smell, creepy costumed people, and all around attitude. We did get to go to the beach, so that was great.

 The show was at the Viper Room and it was packed. They played 2 sets and even played a cover of my favorite Joy Division song (Twenty Four Hours). It was heavy as hell and the intimate setting was a good choice for their 1st show. They sold out of ALL of the shirts that I had designed and I wasn't able to get one, but Scott said that he'd save me one.  I was also able to meet up with Tom Denney. He walked past me before the show and I immediately recognized him. I said hello. We were instantly thick as thieves and made plans to get an art show together and visit him again when we could have more time to stay. 

 LaLa land was an experience to say the least, but we had a great time and will be back soon. And, maybe get a bit more sleep than we did.

Shrinebuilder shirts and their upcoming mini tour

 

  

  

  

 

 

                                            

Evo Screen Printing just posted up the pics of the finished Shrinebuilder shirts. They came out sick! The guys over at Evo do great work and are able to print all of the detail in my designs. It looks like the shirts will be available in dark grey w/ black and silver ink, white w/ black and silver ink, black short and long sleeve w/ white and red ink. Scott said that they might even have some hoodies printed, too. They have previously printed the Scott Kelly designs and I'm even thinking about getting some of my other designs printed there. They have samples of other shirts, hats, bags, etc. that they have printed. My favorite is the Neurot Recordings Youth Soccer team shirts. You can reach them at : http://www.myspace.com/evoscreenprinting .

  

  The Shrinebuilder shirts will be available on the upcoming mini tour, starting at the Viper Room in Los Angeles on November 11th. and ending in Austin, Texas on November 16th. Go see them if they happen to be playing near you. I'll be attending the show in LA, so if you see me there say "hi". It'll be a great time of friends, sand, red eyes, doom, and crushing metal. 

Optimum Wound and the Masters Of Ink.

 This summer I was contacted by Jason Thibault from Optimum Wound Comics (optimumwound.com) about being a part of the Masters Of Ink series that he runs on his site. We emailed each other a few times and he sent me an interview to answer when I had the time. As things have been really busy, I answered the questions when I could and ended up taking 3 months to complete the questions. Of course, it hard for me to write about myself so that was one reason for the delay. If you'd like a look over the writ, you can find it here:

   www.optimumwound.com/category/masters-of-ink

    I can say that I am humbled to be a part of the Masters Of Ink series and to be in the company of so many artists that I respect, admire, and find influence in. And, here I am writing crazy answers to the questions that other artists had great answers to. Ha! Who thought punk and metal would help me further my art career? Piss off Mr. Holmes!!!!

Finished building the shrine.

 The Shrinebuilder shirt/hoodie design is complete. The idea was to keep with the serpent and shrine motif and tie the back into both the sleeve and main design. At first, the border was to contain the tour dates, but Scott and Al decided to replace them with a lyric from the album. I really like that way that the whole project came together. Now, I can hardly wait to see them.

 As usual, it's 1am and I have to get up for work in a few hours. You have to bleed in order to do what you love and I'm extremely light headed.

Kylesa, Shrinebuilder, and looking forward to having time for art.

  Kylesa came through town last night and played a hell of a show. The only thing missing was the banner that they made of the Killer Of Love design. The low ceiling and limited space on stage at Chop Suey was to blame. So, Phillip went outside and pulled the banner out of the trailer so that I could finally see it. It's an incredible thing to see it printed in such a grand scale. He said that they are stoked about the banner and have had it up at other shows. My friend Jaysin sent me a picture that he took at the Launchpad in Albuquerque, NM. I'm hoping that I'll get to see it up one day, but having seen it at all was great.

 The back of the Shrinebuilder shirts is getting inked and ready for their 5 date tour in November. Scott and Al really liked the sleeve designs and have asked me to replace the idea that they had of placing tour dates within a border with a few lyrics from one of their songs. I just heard another song off of the Shrinebuilder album and it is sick as all hell. 

 

 And, soon I will be putting in my two weeks notice at work. I simply can't maintain a full time job and work on art, so I am going to focus solely on my art and projects. I have some things in the works and am booked for a long while so I know that quitting is the right thing to do . Freedom is close.

Right and left hand paths.

  The Shrinebuilder designs are almost complete. Scott, Al, and I collaborated on the ideas for the sleeve designs and they will be printed on long sleeve and hoodies for their 5 date tour November 14th-18th. They came up with the idea of the left and right hand paths combining with a hermetic sun & moon. Al wanted to add the number 108 into the left design and Scott had the idea of fading hands and pronounced blood flowing from the stigmata wounds. Now, I can get to work on a design for the back of the shirts composed of a border and hand drawn tour dates. I'm also going to try to make it out to one of the shows. 

  Lamb of God designs are next to be sketched.

Something fun for my new niece.

  I recently became an uncle again and wanted to start my new niece out on a path of morbidity. My sister has a dark and fucked up sense of humor and my other two nieces have been raised in a family that all tends to lean toward the morbid side of humor.  I wanted to give her something that would be cute, useful, and personalized, so I drew out this design and had it printed onto an American Apparel Organics bib. On the bib printed for her, I added her initials. I liked the design so much that I'm thinking of printing more to sell in my friend Erins' store. Awwww, dead babies are cute (my living niece is cuter).

Shrinebuilder merch, Flatstock, and good friends.

    Flatstock 22 is upon us and I'm amped for this years incarnation. Sure I have work to do and I'll have to get some drawing done this weekend, but I have been sketching like a madman lately.  The next few days I want to be able to enjoy some art, music, and seeing some good friends.  The guys from Mad Packyderms (Lee & Larry) will be staying with me for the festival and I'll also be able to hang out with some of artists that I've had the pleasure of meeting over the years. Bumbershoot is always a people watchers dream, so I'm sure that I'm in for an interesting weekend.

  In other news, the Shrinebuilder shirts are out and for sale. You can find them here:

               www.realdealmerch.com

 There will also be bandanas, hats, hoodies, etc. being printed soon. Mark from Lamb Of God works at Real Deal and will be handling all of the merch set up. It's kind of funny, but Mark had just contacted me about doing some shirt designs for L.O.G. I'm really feeling lucky to be having such big projects coming through.  The power of word of mouth advertising is immeasurable. 

   I think that I'm going to rest up because I feel like it's going to be an busy weekend. 

Two of the Only One.

  You never know what you can do until you have to make a deadline. I've been so busy with work and art projects that I have a perpetual "full plate" on my hands. It's always good to be busy and better when you're doing what you love for yourself. I have been so busy finishing up the coloring on the Smaug cover, designing the Cobalt shirt, working on the Tom Denney collaboration, sketching a new 3 sided High On Fire shirt, sketching out the I'm Better Than Everyone Records design,  and finishing up my sketches on the collaboration with John Baizely, that I forgot about the new design for the front of the new Kylesa hoodie.

 It took 4 days of intense clawing for ideas, sketching, and inking. In the end, the idea came from the lyrics to "Only One" from the Static Tensions lp, as had the European tour shirt design. The reason for this was that the back of the new hoodie will display the European design front, skeletons from the back of the Euro shirt on the sleeves, and the new design for the front panels on a zipper hoodie. I wanted to make a design for the front that would tie in with the design on back. The new design is framed in and an door shape to match the open door in the woman's chest from the Euro design. It's still a portrait of loneliness, introspection, and despair and is supposed to be contained within the woman's own heart.  The lyrics to the song are:

                                -ONLY ONE-

               Locked into moments seen through and through

               Like darkness shining on you revealing and weeping

               I try to

               Try to see things through and through

               As darkness cloaks the sun I seem the only one

               Brick anchors in wet sand

               Carry through tomorrows end

               Lines of life carving hands

               Clear the path to claim the land.

 I included the lyrics because the two design are based off of the song and one another and I find it important to let the bands own words assist me in creating a design that specifically fits them. I can't wait to see the hoodies once they are finished. That'll be October 5th, when they play Chop Suey with Red Fang, Bison BC, & Iron lung. Go see them when they come to your town and buy a poster as well. The posters will be screenprinted and include the "Only One" design with tour dates. You can find tour dates and news on Kylesa at www.kylesa.com.

I really need a vacation.

Progress on the Smaug front & collaborations to do.

  There is progress on the Smaug logo and cover!  This is exciting considering I started it in late 2008 and finished it in May. One of the reasons for the lapse in time was I had spent a whole week and a half, working hours a day coloring the design on the computer. It was the first cover that I had ever tried to color using a computer, so I guess that I should have expected some kind of set back. Anyway, I ended up finishing the cover, saving it to my computer, and walking away for a bit of rest. The next morning, I went to open the file and it was corrupted. I saved the same file a few times just in case something like this happened, but all were corrupted. It had taken so much time, effort, and physical pain to get the cover colored that I kind of snapped. I then tried to color it again on the computer only to have more bad shit happen. So, this design hadn't been too kind and my attempts to finish it ended in me just walking away. It's been too long and I have started to color the image again. This time, I'm coloring it by hand. The way I should have in the first place. It's going really well and I hope to be done with it by the end of the week. I DID finish their new logo, though. I got some ideas from Alton and tried to make a strong and legible font that would go with the cover art and the music. 

 I'll also be finishing up the Tom Denney collaboration, this month. It's been a while since we started it, but it will be finished. Then, I can start work on the collaboration with John Baizley. We will working on a new shirt design for the upcoming Baroness cd and tour. We have been talking and working out all of the logistics of the design and have a good idea that we are now going forward with. The idea comes from the lyrics to "O'er Hell And Hide" and should prove to be a sick piece of art. John also said that we will probably be making the design into prints. Damn! Why do I have a 2nd job?

  

August first and the ball of fire is out for now.

  Holy shit, it's been hot! It been in the high 90's/low 100's here and we were not prepared. Sitting at an art table with no air or hot air flowing in the window has been hard to take. But now, the temperatures are dropping (not by much) and August is upon us. I have a lot of projects on the schedule still and have to get through a few this month. This week, I will be inking the Smaug logo and attempting to color their cover,  yet again. I have been through so much trying to get this cover done for them and am hoping that this time will be the final attempt. I will also be working on a shirt design for Karim at Better Than Everyone Records, a design for the front of a Kylesa hoodie, a shirt design for Cobalt, and a collaboration with John Baizley for a new Baroness shirt. So, it looks like I will be a busy man for a while. Hopefully, in cooler temperatures.

3am Altar Burning

 Working 40 hours a week and a full art schedule can take a lot out of a man. It's 3am and I have to get up for work in 3 hours. The good news would be that the Yob -"Burning Altars" design is ready. I was hoping to get it done sooner, but life and my need for uber detail, got the best of me. Chris at Profound Lore Records has amazing patience and I thank him. I'm getting delirious. Goodnight. 

Bus Rides & Mercury Mountain

 July has started out to be a hectic month. I went out and found a job working at a t-shirt screen printing studio, 40 hours a week. As you may have guessed, that leaves only spare time to work on art. I'm getting up around 6am, catching a bus that takes an hour to get to and from work, coming home, cleaning up, eating, and then going directly to the art table. The weekends are spent working on designs, as well. I am about a week and a half behind in my scheduling, but hope to make it up with the next few designs being sketched out already. 

 That being said, I had been working on a cover for Boston, Massachusetts own Riff Cannon. These guys play some really good sludge/stoner rock and from what I have heard, Mercury Mountain will be an album that gains much attention. The cover image is taken from the lyrics to "Mercury Mountain" & " The Oracle" as both songs fit into the motif that I wanted to display. I tried to add a lot of texture to the design, as not to lose any of the detail and shape. Looking at it it feels like I didn't do much in the way of detail, but when it comes down to it, this design had me entrenched in the detail and keeping the design symmetrical. I like the finished product and the guys are happy with it too, so that is all a guy can ask for. You can hear some songs and find out more at myspace.com/riffcannon . 

  

 

Pale Horse for Black Skies

 The Black Skies shirt design is done and ready for tour.  I titled it "Under Hoof of The Pale Horse" and tried to make an iconic depiction of the forbearer of the apocalypse. I also added the human skull as a a symbol of the death of mankind from our own weapons. I picked out a lot of the imagery from the song "2105", off of their Hexagon ep. You can listen to that song and others at www.myspace.com/losblackskies and http://www.blackskies.us. Also, check out the dates for their summer tour that begins June16th. Go to the show, by some merch, and support the touring bands.

  

Kylesa European Tour Shirts

I've been working on a shirt design for Kylesa's European tour, for days now. I'm really happy that I was able to get the design finished in time and that I was actually awake and functioning, by the end. The design is called "The Only One" and it's based off of the lyrics to the my favorite song off of Static Tensions, called "Only One". It helps that their lyrics always seem to provide me with inspiration and that they are really great people. I'm amped that they'll be taking this design with them To Europe, too. While they're there, they will be supporting Torche for the first 17 dates, headlining for 13 dates, and playing a slew of festivals with the likes of Mastodon, Wolves In The Throne Room, Voivod, Coalesce, Taint, and Slipknot.
Now, I can sleep. Maybe.

Kylesa Backdrop

The new Kylesa "Killer Of Love" design has been made into a backdrop. Phillip said that they weren't able to put it up on the Mastodon tour (Mastodon has an L.E.D.-type screen as their backdrop), but they will have it up when they play shows outside of that tour. He did inform me of a short video on youtube.com, though. It's from a performance in Birmingham, Alabama, that has the backdrop hanging up while they play. The video is short, but you can see it behind them. They told me that they were really excited about it and hoped that I would be able to see it the next time they play in Seattle.

The new design is also available at www.indiemerchstore.com/kylesa. While you're there you can also purchase the new design "Sensation" from YZR Craftsman. Yuzuru and I have 2 designs each, available on the Mastodon/Kylesa tour.

I am currently working on a shirt design for Cobalt from Denver, Colorado. You can find out more about them at www.myspace.com/stinktown666 .

Oh, and kidney stones suck!

Shrinebuilder

The Shrinebuilder design is finally done! It's a simple iconic design, but that's what we were aiming for. I had been given ideas on the subject matter for the design by Scott and went through a few sketches being passed around to get to the final design. It took a second, but after redrawing it a couple of times i ended up with something that I'm rather pleased with. Now that this is finished we just have to wait for the album to come out.You can check them out at www.myspace.com/shrinebuildergroup.

Volcom Spring 2009 Featured Artist Series

Volcom has just released my design for their spring 2009 Featured Artist Series line. This is the first of several designs that I will be doing for Volcom. I have to thank Jinx and Daven for hooking me up with the opportunity and High On Fire for being the catalyst that sparked their interest in my work. You can purchase shirts at www.volcom.com in the Featured Artist Series section.

New Blog, New Kylesa design.

I am starting this site to be able to show my finished work, works in progress, and future projects. I hope that I can find interesting things to say and maybe explain some of the elements within my pieces.

With that being said.........

There is a new Kylesa design that I finished in time for their spring tour with Mastodon and Intronaut. The new design is called "Killer Of Love" and was based off of the lyrics to the song "Scapegoat" off of the "Static Tensions" album. The shirt will be available at the shows and can also be purchased at www.indiemerchstore.com/kylesa. While you're there check out the design "Sensation" by Yuzuru. He is a great Japanese artist and all-around incredible guy. You can find more of his art at www.yzrcraftsman.com.

I will be finishing the coloring for the cover of the new Smaug album, "Epic Journeys and The Riddle of Steel." Due to a crashing Photoshop program and a few corrupt files, things are finally back on schedule. I'll also be designing a new logo to go with the cover.

The Shrinebuilder t-shirt design should be done and posted within the next week or so. Shrinebuilder is the new project consisting of Scott Kelly (Neurosis), Wino (St. Vitus, The Obsessed, The Hidden Hand), Dale Grover (Melvins), and Al Sisneros (Sleep, OM). It should be a great release and I am honored to be designing a shirt for them.

There are upcoming designs and covers on my schedule for The Faceless, Cobalt, High On Fire, Yob, Riff Cannon, Fanatics, I'm Better Than Everyone Records, Black Skies, Fallen Figure, Cyanide Destruct, Creepy Cult, and a Tom Denney collaboration. Also, look for designs already done and out for Job For A Cowboy, Power Pellut, and Heathen Shrine. You can see more of my art at www.myspace.com/outofspite .